


Meeting You Again (Until I Am Home)

by Voidfish



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Feeblemind, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, POV Taako (The Adventure Zone), this is the taz writers discords fault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-16 02:05:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13626282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voidfish/pseuds/Voidfish
Summary: Taako gets hit with Feeblemind. The people he's staying with are all very strange.





	1. Prologue: Feeblemind

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Feeblemind](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13188000) by [ToTillAGarden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToTillAGarden/pseuds/ToTillAGarden). 



> This started with Totillagarden's incredible fic Feeblemind, which I would highly recommend!!! It's so good!! And then it went on to nattoppet-dj's incredible drawings for Feeblemind Taako, and here I am instead of doing homework. 
> 
> In case anyone doesn't know what Feeblemind is, it's a spell that takes the user's intelligence and charisma down to 1. They can't speak or understand language-they know who's friend and who's foe, but not much. 
> 
> The perspective is from Taako's point of view. I'll add at the end an index of what each character is referred to as.
> 
> This will have 7 more chapters, each one with Taako describing someone in his Feebleminded state.
> 
> The spell, without a greater restoration, lasts a month.

The spell hits Taako square in the chest. 

He’s out with the Reaper Squad, a quick necromancer pickup and then they’ll be on their way to dinner.

Taako is a talented transmutation wizard and a baller flip wizard, thank you very much. He was going to be fine, no matter what. 

The spell hits him and everything goes fuzzy.

He tries to call out for Kravitz. For Barry. For Lup.

He feels himself forget again, and before he can scream he’s gone.

***

Taako wakes up lying in the soft grass.

There’s screaming in the background, the noise so loud that he pushes his hands against his ears to muffle it.

His hands are shaking. He doesn’t remember why.

A man in denim pants rushes up to him - Pants Man, Taako dubs him - and kneels next to him.

He says something that Taako can’t understand. His voice is gravely, but warm. 

Taako blinks. The man’s face pales, and he calls something over his shoulder. Another man quickly runs over.

The most gorgeous man that Taako has ever seen. 

He has dark skin, red eyes, and gorgeous hair pulled into dreadlocks. Taako smiles at him. He knows this is a friend.

No, more than a friend, his gut tells him. More than a friend. 

The man tries to speak to him, and the more Taako doesn’t understand the more frustrated the man gets.

Taako takes the man’s hand in his, trying to calm him down. Something was making him upset, and that was bad. Taako wants to see him smile.

A third person, an elven woman, rushes to his side.

When he sees her he can’t help but grin. There’s something about this friend - no, his sister - that makes him feel alive. 

She looks panicked, tears dripping down her face, as she examines him.

She keeps saying things that Taako can’t understand, her tone growing in urgency until it’s a plead. Taako cups her face in his hands. He leans in and gives her forehead a kiss.

She continues crying, but the trio get up and lead him somewhere new. The handsome man sweeps him up and carries him, but Taako doesn’t mind. He’s starting to get sleepy anyways.

He falls asleep on the way home.

***

Taako wakes up to find himself placed on a couch, surrounded by a variety of dozing people.

On first glance Taako can tell they’re all friends. There’s a large human man with bushy sideburns who snores loudly as he rests - Sideburns, Taako dubs him. 

On a chair next to Taako’s couch, as if he had been checking on him, is a chubby dwarf with flowers in his beard. On his lap is a potted plant - it’s pretty and green and Taako leans over to touch it. As he does he causes the plant man to stir - the Plant Man, that’s what Taako will call him. The Plant Man blinks at him, confused, before realization dawns on his face. He smiles sadly and waves at Taako. 

The Plant Man says something and people around the room start to rise. 

Sideburns bellows a greeting that makes Taako jump. At this reaction he quiets down, gazing guiltily in Taako’s direction.

Someone else speaks to Sideburns - a dark skinned, light haired woman with a pen placed carefully in her lap. She speaks in such a gentle way that Taako decides he will call her the Quiet Lady. 

Taako’s sister and the Handsome Man approach him, concern on their faces. He grabs their hands, bringing them to sit beside him, and nuzzles up between the two of them. Everyone seems surprised.

There are more words spoken that Taako can’t understand. 

A man in the corner looks at him and nods solemnly. Taako decides immediately he will be called Mustache Man because he sports an impressive ‘stache, orange in color.

Mustache Man smiles at him, speaking softly to the rest of the group. They fall silent and listen to him. He’s in charge, Taako can tell, or at least he used to be. 

The people around the room nod at what Mustache Man has to say - Taako wishes he could have heard the speech, Sideburns looks moved to tears - and start to slowly leave the room.

Soon it’s just the Handsome Man and Taako’s sister. They each place a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

Taako doesn’t know why they’re sad, but he’s glad they’re here with them. He only hopes they’re glad he’s there, too.


	2. Chapter 1: The Pants Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako does not like the Pants Man. 
> 
> He knows, of course, that the Pants Man isn’t an enemy. He’s a friend, a very good friend at that, and Taako is always happy to see him.
> 
> But the Pants Man has a specific job, and that’s keeping him away from his sister.
> 
> So the Pants Man will have to suffer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's me again! This chapter is about Feeblemind!Taako's opinions on our favorite denim man, Barry Bluejeans.
> 
> Thank you so much for the incredible comments so far, it really means a lot to me!
> 
> As for updates on this, I'm not positive, but I'm going to try to have it all finished by the end of February.
> 
> The chapter count changed because I'm planning for an epilogue, too!

Taako does not like the Pants Man. 

He knows, of course, that the Pants Man isn’t an enemy. He’s a friend, a very good friend at that, and Taako is always happy to see him.

But the Pants Man has a specific job, and that’s keeping him away from his sister.

So the Pants Man will have to suffer.

***

Taako’s sister holds his hand as Sideburns does his hair. It was nice - the soothing pull of strands of hair being braided, the feeling of his sister beside him. And next to her was the Pants Man.

He smiles at Taako, eyes crinkling beneath his thick glasses. Taako doesn’t know if today they will get along or not. It depends on if the Pants Man tries anything.

His sister asks a question he can’t understand. He doesn’t know what it’s like to speak, to carry conversations with her, to sass back and forth. He doesn’t know the lilt of his own voice and the differences and similarities between his sister’s voice and his. He doesn’t know much, right now, so he simply smiles at her.

She’s so nice to look at, so kind, and yet her face falls. Her lip quivers, and in a the blink of an eye she’s gone, leaving the room. In the second he caught her before she left, she looked so upset. Taako can’t stand that. He wants her to feel better.

He gets up to follow her, only to be stopped by the Pants Man.

In the two weeks they’ve been stuck in this situation Taako’s sister has only left him to be sad five times, but every time it happens the Pants Man stands in between him and his sister and tries to keep him from comforting her.

Tries. He’s not very good at it.

Taako drops to the floor, crawling to freedom. The Pants Man grabs at his feet and moves him back. 

He’s saying something in a stern tone of voice that grates on Taako’s nerves. 

Taako’s not a child. He needs to comfort his sister, is all.

And if that means biting the Pants Man as he reaches down to put a hand on Taako’s shoulder, so be it.

The Pants Man recoils, and Taako takes that opportunity to bolt towards where his sister went. 

He runs into the hallway and finds in front of him a flight of stairs. That must have been where she went.

The Pants Man is talking with Sideburns, the latter speaking so loudly that Taako feels his ears involuntarily shudder, so Taako knows he has a few seconds to make his way up to her.

Stairs aren’t hard - that’s not the problem.

It’s sneaking up stairs that’s really difficult.

Halfway up the steps the Pants Man appears in the doorway. He looks flustered. His eyes meet Taako’s for a moment; they’re electric blue and filled with such sympathy that Taako wonders if the Pants Man will finally let him win.

And then the Pants Man dashes towards the stairs, after him. Taako squeals. He grabs a slipper from his foot - it’s soft, and he’ll miss it, but desperate times call for desperate measures - and chucks it at the Pants Man. It hits him squarely in the chest, sending him stumbling a few steps backward. 

Taako takes this opportunity to race towards the top of the stairs. He makes it to safety, but that leads to another issue: what room is his sister in?

There are four doors surrounding him, each closed. He has maybe seconds before the Pants Man reaches him. He could try chucking his other slipper, but it’s doubtful that’ll work twice. Besides, his foot is cold. 

He grabs the first doorknob and he turns it, throwing the door open. The room is empty.

He turns his head to check the situation and sees the Pants Man making his way to the very top of the stairs.

He has seconds left. He throws himself towards the second door. He manages to throw the door open right as large, warm hands grab his sides.

He squirms, trying to fight for freedom, but the Pants Man is merciless and refuses to let go. He’s saying something, in a sad voice, but Taako cannot pity him when he’s trying to get between him and his sister. Taako knows this man is supposedly a friend, but in this moment he is an enemy. Taako delights in throwing his head back and letting out a scream.

Taako’s sister appears in the hallway. Her eyes are red, her face tracked with tears.

The Pants Man lets go of Taako and he sprints towards her, enveloping her in a hug. He takes his hands and tries to wipe away her tears. He knows that she’s sad, that something’s wrong, but he can fix it. He can simply be with her until she smiles again, no matter how the Pants Man tries to keep them apart.

His sister rubs his back, swaying from side to side and humming a lullaby. Taako hadn’t even noticed he’d started crying. 

Someone behind them clears their throat.

Taako looks back and sees the Pants Man standing awkwardly in the hallway, watching the exchange. When he sees he has Taako’s sister’s attention he says something, motioning down the stairs.

He looks even worse then Taako’s sister does. Taako can see the bite marks he caused on the Pants Man’s hand, can see the bags forming under his eyes. He can see the tears peaking out that the Pants Man tries to quickly wipe away.

Taako waddles, still attached to his sister, towards the Pants Man, whose eyes widen at the sight.

When he reaches the man he takes a hand away from his sister and brushes away the Pants Man’s tears with it. The man laughs a little, taking Taako’s hand in his and holding it. Taako smiles, and the Pants Man smiles back, the most genuine smile that Taako can remember seeing from him. 

He pulls the Pants Man and his sister into a hug, laughing at the exclamation of surprise that comes from the former at the affection. The two melt into the hug, and the three stay there for a long time.

After that, whenever Taako’s sister has to leave, he stays with the Pants Man for a little bit until the two of them can go and cheer her up. It’s a better arrangement.

The Pants Man, Taako decides, is not a bad man.


	3. Chapter 2: Sideburns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sideburns is very loud. 
> 
> It’s not his fault, Taako thinks. The man simply can’t tell when he’s too noisy or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have most of the fic written in advance, so expect updates about twice a day (one around early evening eastern standard time, one around 8am eastern standard time).

Sideburns is very loud. 

It’s not his fault, Taako thinks. The man simply can’t tell when he’s too noisy or not.

If Taako had control of his own ears this wouldn’t be as much of an issue, but they flick downwards in fear whenever Sideburns speaks. His booming voice is scary.

For a while Sideburns ignores him because of this, but they can’t stay that way forever. He still wants to see Taako, to make sure the elf is okay, to support him in this time. Taako can tell. And Taako likes to have the larger man around, to have his surprisingly delicate fingers braid Taako’s hair.

Taako loves to have his hair done, to have it arranged and pampered, and Sideburns is his favorite stylist. There’s something gentle in his movements, something loving in the flick of his fingers. 

***

Sideburns approaches Taako, slowly and carefully, with a toy. 

At least, Taako thinks it’s a toy. His eyes go wide. He’s never seen anything as beautiful as the hand carved mahogany duck being handed to him. 

Sideburns says something slowly to him. Taako’s not sure if the man doesn’t realize he can’t understand what the human is saying no matter what, or if he knows that but still wants to speak slowly for Taako’s sake.

The way Sideburns holds the toy, careful in his giant hands, Taako can tell it’s very important.

He looks Taako in the eye before handing it over.

Taako takes the duck carefully from Sideburns, examining it up close. It’s beautifully polished, lovingly crafted. Taako takes it and hugs it against his chest. He looks up to grin at Sideburns to find the man in tears. Taako quickly offers the man the duck in return. Anything to make him happy again.

Sideburns shakes his head, gently pressing the duck into Taako’s chest. It’s for him.

***

Sideburns comes by often, but he never stays for longer than a few days at a time. He brings the supplies, the groceries, and things for Taako.

He brings Taako a carved mongoose that Taako totes around everywhere with him. He likes mongooses, even if he can’t think about why.

And he likes Sideburns, even though he’s loud and boisterous and larger than life. Because he’ll also sit with Taako while everyone else is having some conversation so the elf doesn’t have to be lonely. And he’ll bring things that make Taako’s sister smile, and there's nothing more important than her smile. 

There are times when the entire group is frowning, concern and pain etched onto their faces. Taako wants to help them, truly tries to make as many of them happy as possible, but he has to worry about his sister first. By the time he’s done with her he looks around and finds that Sideburns has already started comforting the rest of the team.

He always thanks Sideburns with a smile, who always smiles back. 

***

The first time he truly sees Sideburns sad is after a big fight.

The entire group is over to visit. Taako’s sister and the Pants Man are almost always there, along with the Handsome Man. The Quiet Lady and the Plant Man arrive occasionally to visit, Mustache Man arriving even less than that. Sideburns was over every other day.

Sideburns is telling a story when it happens.

It’s Taako’s ears that are the problem. He just can’t get them to stop shuddering as Sideburns bellows. He’s curled against his sister on the couch, her arm protectively slung over his shoulder. His ears keep hitting her in the face.

His sister says something to Sideburns, tone acidic. She points to Taako, points to his ears, and gestures to his scared expression. Sideburns immediately pauses, eyes wide in fear.

He starts to sob. 

Taako isn’t the only one upset by the sight - the Quiet Lady attempts to calm him, but fails. 

Taako turns to his sister to find her looking horrified. He takes her hand and squeezes it. After a moment, she squeezes back.

She says something to Sideburns, voice filled with regret. He shakes his head, and says something else. His voice is soft, carefully controlled.

Taako squeezes his sister’s hand one last time and then gets off the couch to comfort Sideburns.

Sideburns, seeing Taako approach, scoots back. He shakes his head at the elf, shooing him away.

Taako doesn’t like that. He sits in front of Sideburns regardlessly, taking one of the man’s huge hands in one of his own smaller ones.

Taako takes from his lap the carved mongoose he always carries with him and gives it to Sideburns.

Sideburns blinks at him, confusion written clearly on his face. He tries to give it back, but Taako refuses.

Maybe Sideburns doesn’t know what to do with the mongoose, Taako realizes. He shows Sideburns how to hold the figure close to his chest and rock with it. 

Sideburns smiles gently, and does what Taako instructs. Taako grins, glad that he’s finally been understood.

Taako’s sister comes over, speaking to Sideburns in a soft tone. 

Sideburns says something back, and the two of them hug.

Never one to be left out of attention, and always glad to receive affection, Taako invites himself into the hug. 

The two laugh and wrap him up, embracing him. 

Taako, truthfully, loves it when Sideburns comes to visit.


	4. Chapter 3: The Quiet Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the Quiet Lady comes over to visit she mainly avoids sitting with Taako. Instead she sits with his sister, consoling her and talking to her in soft, gentle tones. 
> 
> That’s where she gets her name from - while Sideburns is loud and bellowing, the Quiet Lady is peaceful and calm, although Taako can tell that’s not how she often feels. She seems to keep the peace without receiving it. She carries herself with a shame that Taako simply can’t comprehend. The alternative nickname he has for her is the Sad One.

When the Quiet Lady comes over to visit she mainly avoids sitting with Taako. Instead she sits with his sister, consoling her and talking to her in soft, gentle tones. 

That’s where she gets her name from - while Sideburns is loud and bellowing, the Quiet Lady is peaceful and calm, although Taako can tell that’s not how she often feels. She seems to keep the peace without receiving it. She carries herself with a shame that Taako simply can’t comprehend. The alternative nickname he has for her is the Sad One.

***

Once every week or so the group will all come together and have dinner. It’s nice to see everyone, to see Taako’s sister smile at the company around her, but Taako doesn’t like group dinner’s for a particular reason.

The Quiet Lady always stares at him.

Taako’s used to glances followed by frowns, at this point. He’s used to pity, although he can’t figure out why he’s being pitied. 

He is not used to the scrutinizing eye of the Quiet Lady.

The first few days she hangs around there is no journal with her. Instead, the situation at hand has her full, undivided attention. After a while, however, it returns, and she’ll often pause to jot things down onto the yellowing paper.

With her journal out, Taako finds the Quiet Lady staring at him a lot. 

She’ll always break when they make eye contact, face flushing in embarrassment. Taako’s not embarrassed - he simply wants to know what’s in the journal. If it’s about him, doesn’t he have the right to know? 

At first he tries to play sweet, but the Quiet Lady avoids him, as if she were afraid of breaking him. 

So next Taako plays dirty. He tries to steal the journal, but his stealth isn’t very good. He gets caught a lot in the act - first by his sister, who simply frowns and then steers him away. Next by the Pants Man, who shakes his head and returns the journal, ignoring Taako’s frustration.

He really gets in trouble when the Quiet Lady herself catches him.

She clears her throat to grab his attention. Her face is stern, a singular eyebrow raised in disbelief. She holds her hand out and Taako reluctantly gives the book away. He knows that he shouldn’t be trying to steal, but he also knows the book is about him and so shouldn’t he have the right to look at it?

Besides, it wasn’t like he could read.

Still, she looks furious. Taako can’t help but cower, ears flattening against his head. 

This causes the Quiet Lady to soften, just a bit. She says something in a stern tone of voice. Taako can’t understand, but he nods, hoping that was the correct response.

It was. She nods in return, slowly rising, and leaves the room.

She returns ten minutes later. Taako had forgotten the whole deal already, instead playing with his mongoose. 

She holds a journal carefully out to him, and he gingerly takes it.

It’s old, but gorgeous. It’s clearly been well loved and well taken care of. 

The Quiet Lady looks so sad as she hands it over, but Taako barely notices. He’s too excited, cautiously flipping through the pages.

This journal is mostly pictures, which Taako appreciates a great deal. He looks up at the Quiet Lady to thank her with a smile to find her crying.

Taako throws himself at her, enveloping her in a hug. She laughs, a little bitterly, and returns the embrace. Taako starts humming, a song his sister hums when he’s upset. It’s a melody that he can vaguely remember. He knows it’s important.

The Quiet Lady pulls back, shocked, but Taako hugs her tighter. He’s not going to let her walk away sad. She’s been sad for too long, he can tell. 

After a while she gives up and once again returns to the embrace. She hums the song along with him.

It’s a simple song, a repetition of seven notes.

Once the Quiet Lady has stopped crying Taako leans back and grabs the journal. 

There are pictures of hills and trees and wildlife, lovingly rendered by hand. Taako wonders who drew this. They should know they’re a very good artist. 

Taako flips through and pauses when he gets to the next page.

There’s a gorgeous full page drawing of what looks like a jellyfish.

Except it’s much more than a jellyfish - each tendril is carefully represented, and it looks like there’s a galaxy inside of it. There’s a human drawn to scale, to show how big the creature is. 

Taako gasps. He hears a chuckle and looks up to see the Quiet Lady smile at him. She says something, voice soft. She flips the page to show him more pictures of the jellyfish, page after page dedicated to them. Sometimes there’s words hastily scribbled next to the illustrations. Most of them time there’s just pretty pictures, which are what Taako likes.

The two of them sit and carefully go through the journal, the Quiet Lady sometimes quickly flipping the page, refusing to let him see what was on it. 

Taako glimpses one of the drawings she tries to hide from him. It’s of a creature made of black slime with thousands of eyes. 

Finally, the two of them reach the end of the journal. The last drawing makes Taako smile ear to ear - it’s of him and his sister, sleeping against each other. He looks up to see the Quiet Lady smiling at it, too.

She gently shuts the journal and gets up to leave. Taako frowns, upset to be abandoned, but he doesn’t follow.

A few minutes later, the Quiet Lady reappears with a stack of journals. She smiles, and hands the one on top to Taako.

They sit there, looking through memories, for a while. 

After that, the Quiet Lady is glad to see him. And Taako’s glad to see her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is the voidfish's melody (EGG BABE), and the thing Lucretia tries to skip over is a drawing of the Hunger.


	5. Chapter 4: The Plant Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Plant Man is by far the strangest of Taako’s friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Merle-o'-clock!
> 
> This one's posted a little early because I have rehearsal tonight until who knows when.

The Plant Man is by far the strangest of Taako’s friends.

For one, there’s the flowers that adorn his beard. They never seem to wilt, never fade, despite the passage of time. Taako thinks they must be blessed, looked after by some deity, but why would a god care about flowers braided into the hair of an old dwarf cleric?

Taako’s pretty sure the Plant Man is a cleric because the dwarf keeps trying to heal him. The man would take his hands and place them on Taako’s forehead, muttering something before pulling away, disappointed.

The entire team would watch, holding their breath. When the spell failed they would split up, some making comments towards the Plant Man, some talking to the others, and some simply sulking.

The Plant Man would always frown at him, eyes filled with apology, whenever the spell failed. He’d leave the room and be gone for a long time after that. Sometimes Taako would try to find him and make sure that he was ok, but he could never find the dwarf before the thought escaped his head.

***

The first time that Taako is allowed outside the house is a cause for celebration.

Well, it is for him. Everyone else is panicking.

Taako’s sister, the Pants Man, and the Handsome Man are all in their work clothes, dark hoods with scythes drawn. Taako’s sister keeps calling someone on a stone of farspeech, eyes flickering to Taako with worry every other minute.

Taako goes over to calm her down, which seems to freak her out even more. Eventually the Handsome Man takes him to the other room and sits with him while they wait - or, more frankly, tries to keep Taako under control until his sister returns. The Handsome Man is doing his best, but this is usually the Pants Man’s job.

Eventually his sister enters the room with a tired smile. She takes the seat next to him, grabbing his hand. Then there’s a sound like fabric ripping over in the next room.

Out of the room walks the Pants Man, and with him is the Plant Man. 

Which is odd, because the Plant Man went home a few days ago and Taako’s pretty sure he lives far away. Still, when he sees him Taako waves and the Plant Man waves back. He has a pot in his hand, a prickly green plant inside of it. 

Taako’s sister squeezes Taako’s hand before getting up and saying something to the Plant Man, who nods.

She goes over and kisses his forehead. He giggles in response, causing her to smile. The Handsome Man comes over and kisses his cheek. The Pants Man gives him a sturdy handshake. 

The Plant Man takes his hand as all three of them trudge out of the room. Taako tries to follow, but the Plant Man holds him back.

There’s that ripping sound again, and Taako breaks free. He rushes into the room the three had walked into to find it abandoned.

The Plant Man tries to stop him, but Taako scours the house, searching for where his family could have gone. They were just there a minute ago.

By the time he stops searching he’s crying, the Plant Man panting to catch up to him.

The Plant Man gingerly takes him and leads him to the couch. He places the potted plant on Taako’s lap. Taako stares at it in fascination before poking it, everything else forgotten. 

It hurts. 

Taako recoils, shoving the plant, which goes flying. It hits the ground with a thud and the pot shatters.

The Plant Man looks horrified.

Taako scurries up, trying to clean up the situation, but the Plant Man leads him into another room, shoving Taako’s mongoose in his hands to play with instead while the pot gets cleaned up.

When the Plant Man returns Taako smiles in apology, and the dwarf smiles back.

He says something to Taako. It sounds like a question. He waits for a response.

Taako nods. He doesn’t know what he’s nodding to.

The dwarf looks delighted. He leads Taako towards where they keep the coats and picks a white fur coat to drape over him. Taako’s seen Lup wear it before. It’s soft against his skin, and he hugs it close. He likes this coat.

The Plant Man takes his own coat from the couch and puts it on. 

And then the Plant Man leads Taako outside.

Taako’s never allowed to go outside. His eyes widen. The air is crisp, the wind blowing the trees gently back and forth. 

The Plant Man leads him towards the backyard, grabbing Taako’s hand to make sure the elf won’t run off.

There’s a bed of flowers at the back of the house that are dying.

Nobody’s taken care of this garden in a long time, obviously. Weeds are overgrown and the red roses that are supposed to be growing are instead withering.

The Plant Man frowns and let’s go of Taako’s hand to cracks his knuckles.

Taako notices that one of the dwarf’s hands is made of wood. He wonders what it feels like, as he sees the wooden fingers move.

He pokes the hand.

The Plant Man’s head quickly snaps up in disbelief. He turns towards Taako who looks away, pretending it wasn’t him.

The Plant Man throws his head back and laughs. Taako giggles too. 

The Plant Man offers his wooden hand to Taako, who takes it with fascination. He moves the fingers, feeling them stretch. The Plant Man tells him a story as he does this, miming holding something with his hand and an axe swing. The Plant Man chuckles, and Taako does too. He doesn’t know what’s going on, but he likes the good-natured tone of voice the dwarf has. It must be a good story.

After a minute of examining the Plant Man Taako gets bored and turns towards the roses.

The Plant Man goes to the roses and says something. The flowers glow, and start to slowly grow.

Taako watches with fascination. The Plant Man watches in disbelief, almost like he didn’t expect that to work. 

Once the roses finish growing the Plant Man tries something else, pointing to the weeds.

Nothing happens.

Sighing, the Plant Man gets down and starts pulling the weeds out manually. Taako watches for a moment before starting to wander.

The backyard is nice and big. There’s a tree good for climbing that Taako gravitates towards. 

He makes it halfway up the tree before the Plant Man notices that he’s missing.

Taako waves from a couple feet in the air as the Plant Man turns. The dwarf’s face pales and he looks horrified before scurrying over to the tree. He points at the ground, trying to get Taako to climb down.

Taako shakes his head.

The Plant Man tries again, and Taako shakes his head more exaggeratedly.

The Plant Man throws his hands out in exasperation and moves towards the tree. He starts to climb.

Or, more, he tries. He’s not very good at it. 

After watching the Plant Man fall on his ass the fourth time and realizing that he wasn’t going to stop Taako begins to climb down.

The Plant Man beams when Taako reaches the ground. He takes Taako’s hand and leads him inside, taking the coat off and placing it back on the hook.

They spend the rest of the time until the other three come back playing War. Or, at least trying. Taako can’t understand the rules of the game and he eventually starts stealing cards simply because he wants them.

The Plant Man, always a kind opponent, lets him win.


	6. Chapter 5: The Mustache Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako is a big fan of the Mustache Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter so far because gosh I love Davenport.
> 
> Warning for a panic attack in the third section.
> 
> Thanks to the TAZ Fic Writers discord for helping me figure out what to do with this chapter.
> 
> Also, I know, creatures under Feeblemind can't talk or understand language but pretend with me they can replicate words they hear without understand them. Bare with me, for the angst.

Taako is a big fan of the Mustache Man. 

He doesn’t visit as often as the rest, but when he does he brings gifts from the sea; seashells he’s found on his adventures, carefully picked for each person.

Taako’s sister gets a bright red shell, Pants Man a dark blue one, a hermit crab shell for Sideburns, and a spiralling shell for the Quiet Lady. Handsome Man gets an obsidian looking shell. The Plant Man gets seaweed, which everyone finds hilarious. Taako laughs along. 

For Taako the Mustache Man presents a golden shell that sparkles in the light. He demonstrates the way that light reflects off of it, blinding parts of the room, before handing it over to Taako. Taako gingerly takes the shell and moves it around, admiring the way that it catches the light. 

He gives the gnome a hug. Mustache Man stumbles backwards in surprise before returning the gesture. 

***

The Mustache Man speaks to him in a way that’s gentle and sad. He knows what to do, what to say, to catch Taako’s attention. He warns the others when they’re talking to much, cutting them off quickly and efficiently with only a few words. 

The Pants Man crouches down to speak to Taako and the Mustache Man has a word with him. 

After a talking to with the Mustache Man no one speaks down to him, voice lilting as if addressing a child, again.

He doesn’t have the words to say it, but Taako is grateful. He thinks the Mustache Man knows this.

*** 

After Taako fails his first saving throw the Mustache Man stays for a week.

For the first bit after Taako wakes up the Mustache Man is nowhere in sight. When he does visit he steels himself before approaching Taako.

But as things get dire the gnome seems to step up to a position he doesn’t want. 

Taako’s sister leaves the room after he fails, and Taako tries to rush after her. The Pants Man won’t let him leave. It’s almost like their old fights, except this is serious now and Taako needs to see her-

And then the Mustache Man approaches and says something firm to the Pants Man.

The Mustache Man offers his hand to Taako, and together they go towards his sister’s room.

She says the word that everyone always says when they see him, and then another word. Another name.

Taako tries to hold on to the words, but it’s hard. They slip from his mind. 

Taako goes over to his sister and holds her hand, wiping tears from her eyes. She smiles at him, and he goes to thank the Mustache Man only to find him sneaking out of the room.

Desperate to get him to stay, Taako repeats the word that is always said when they see him. He needs something, anything, to get this man to stay.

“Taa-ko.”

The Mustache Man hears the slurred word come out of Taako’s mouth and he freezes, body tense.

Taako’s sister turns to him, eyes wide. She says the word. He says it back. There are tears in her eyes. She looks so happy. 

Taako says the word, grinning. She grins back.

The Mustache Man quickly walks over. He looks terrible - face ghostly white, eyes wide, hands trembling. Taako says the word to make him feel better. The man simply ignores him, shaking harder.

He speaks to Taako’s sister, who argues with him. There’s a lot of shouting, a lot of gesturing to him, a lot of exasperation as the two fight. 

Finally, Taako’s sister says the word. He looks up. She smiles.

The Mustache Man gently asks him a question. Taako stares, before deciding to nod, hoping it was the right answer.

It wasn’t. His sister’s face falls, tears continuing. The Mustache Man nods gravely.

Taako doesn’t like to see them upset. He says the word again. And again. He repeats it, slurring, babbling, hoping it will lead to some sort of miracle.

He stops only when the Mustache Man doubles over.

Taako goes towards him, eyes wide. His sister tries to steer him out of the room, but Taako knows someone who needs comfort when he sees one. 

The Mustache Man looks up for a moment. His face is red, breathing shallow, eyes misty. He gestures for them to leave the room, but Taako refuses. He approaches cautiously, and starts to show the Mustache Man how to breathe. 

In, 2, 3, 4, out, 2, 3, 4.

After a moment the Mustache Man follows suit. Taako’s sister comes over after a little bit, breathing with them. 

After Taako’s sure that the Mustache Man is ok he wraps the man in a hug. He still shudders, the pain only subdued and not undone, but he accepts the embrace.

Taako makes sure not to say his word in front of the Mustache Man again, for fear of upsetting him.

*** 

Plant Man gets in trouble for Taako’s excursion outside, but after a few weeks Taako is allowed to go outside again.

The group, together, takes a trip to visit Mustache Man’s ship. 

It’s small for that many people, but they make do, cramming together and enjoying each others’ company.

Taako has to wear floaties, but it’s okay because they’re a see through kind of pink and the Pants Man gets his own floaties that are denim. Taako tries to steal them, but it’s hard to steal something off of someone without them noticing. 

Taako’s sister stays with him for most of the time, but eventually the Pants Man and her disappear into the water. Sideburns joins them, ecstatic. The Plant Man and the Quiet Lady follow.

That leaves the Handsome Man, Taako, and the Mustache Man.

Taako hasn’t seen the gnome since his panic attack. He could tell that when the man looked at him the scene replayed in his mind.

And Taako likes the Mustache Man. He tries to be a hardass, but he’s gentle and kind and understanding. Taako admires him. He wishes there was a way he could get the Mustache Man to like him back. 

The Mustache Man smiles cautiously at Taako.

Taako realizes that the gnome had spent so long searching for shells for everyone else he had never gotten one himself.

Taako smiles and jumps off the boat. 

The water is cold, and he lets out a delighted squeal that catches his sister’s attention. She paddles towards him, panicked. 

He shakes his head. He points below the water, as an explanation. Still she speaks, voice shrill.

Finally, the Pants Man paddles over and disappears under the waves. He returns a second later with a shell. He hands it to Taako.

Taako grins and eagerly takes the shell. He holds onto it and nods.

Taako’s sister looks at him in pure confusion for a moment before breaking into hysterical laughter.

They spend the rest of the time with the Pants Man and Taako’s sister diving under the water and bringing shells to Taako, who would decide if they were worthy or not.

By the end of the day he has a large pile of shells to hand to the Mustache Man, who looks at him at first with surprise and then with appreciation.

The Mustache Man tentatively opens his arms for a hug and Taako embraces him.


	7. Chapter 6: The Handsome Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Handsome Man is almost always busy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, more than the last, is the TAZ Fic Writer's Discord's fault. Thank you so much for the quality ideas <3  
> Kravitz gets hurt, but he's ok.  
> I ignore the rules of dungeons in dragons in order to have angst yet again.

The Handsome Man is almost always busy.

Taako’s not sure if it’s is on purpose or by pure coincidence that the man rarely has time to hang around. On one hand, he seems sad and distant when he is there, looking at Taako fondly with a bittersweet smile. On the other hand, he’s frantic most mornings when he leaves, telling something to Taako’s sister. She stays most days with Taako while the Handsome Man and occasionally the Pants Man head to work. She likes to be with Taako, and Taako doesn’t mind in the slightest.

As he leaves the Handsome Man always moves to Taako and says the same thing to him before kissing his forehead and disappearing into the other room. There’s the sound of fabric ripping, and he’s gone.

Sometimes he comes back in time for dinner. Most nights he’s there by the time Taako comes to bed. Sometimes he stays out longer.

Whenever he returns he says something to Taako and smiles at him softly.

The last word of both his greetings are the same. 

Taako sits alone in his room and practices saying the word, unaware of the implications. He likes the ring to it, regardless.

“Love. Lo-ve. Looooove.”

***

Taako knows he loves the Handsome Man. He can’t think much farther than that, that this man is more than a friend to him, but whenever he smiles Taako smiles back. In a simple way, Taako supposes, that is love. 

***

The nights that the Handsome Man spends at the house he originally spends on the couch. Taako sleeps with his sister in her room, the Pants Man sleeps in an additional room that’s ornately decorated, and the Handsome Man refuses to take anywhere else.

Taako doesn’t know if he needs to sleep or not, but he always look rough in the morning, pouring coffee. His eyes have bags under them, his expression is tight. When he sees Taako looking he tries to smile. It doesn’t convince Taako of anything - the man truly is a terrible liar.

***

One night the Handsome Man stumbles in during dinner and collapses.

He looks awful, blood matted on his forehead, a bruise forming on his eye, black clothes and immaculate cloak ripped and covered in dirt. He makes it to the living room before swaying, smiling at the trio having dinner.

He greets Taako the way he always does before falling, unconscious, to the ground.

Taako is out of his seat in a moment, by the Handsome Man’s side. He rolls the man to his side, admiring his beautiful face for only a moment before turning to his sister.

She looks horrified, eyes wide, hand covering her mouth. There’s a stunned pause before the Pants Man pushes his seat back, and then suddenly the three get to work.

Taako takes off the man’s jacket and cloak while the Pants Man scurries into the next room for first aid. Taako’s sister disappears and returns later with a pillow and a blanket. She and Taako carefully move the Handsome Man to the couch and settle him there.

The Pants Man takes the man’s hand, searching for something in his wrist, before laughing and dropping the hand. He whispers something to Taako’s sister, as if Taako could understand what they were saying. The two talk for a moment as Taako looks over the Handsome Man. 

He’s still, face blank. Something about this situation fills Taako with an immense fear that he can’t place. He holds the man’s hand, bringing it gently to his mouth before kissing it and releasing it.

Taako’s sister gently tries to get him to leave, but he refuses. He wants to stay until the Handsome Man wakes up. He wants to know that he’s alright.

His sister nods and sits next to him.

They wait for a while, the Pants Man and Taako’s sister playing a game with each other while Taako watches. 

Every fifteen minutes or so he’ll forget what’s going on and turn to see the Handsome Man’s body again for the first time. 

He panics and rushes forward, holding the man’s hand. He stays there for a few minutes before his sister finally coaxes him to sit down and watch the game. He reluctantly agrees.

The cycle repeats.

It’s after two hours that the Handsome Man finally wakes up. He sits up slowly, looking blearily around him. He smiles at Taako, and greets him the way he always does.

Taako flings himself at the Handsome man, smothering him in kisses. 

The Handsome Man laughs at that, and turns to say something to Taako’s sister and the Pants Man.

Taako takes his hand and kisses it. And again. He doesn’t have the words to say how worried he was, but he has actions. 

The Handsome Man laughs and kisses Taako’s forehead.

Taako knows the pattern by this point, after months of repetition, even if he can’t for the life of him understand it.

“Mmm-hmm lo-ve,” he manages to say before kissing the Handsome Man on the forehead. 

The Handsome Man looks at him, eyes wide. He asks a question that Taako can’t possibly understand. They both know this. The Handsome Man still looks hopeful.

Taako says the word and kisses him again. The Handsome Man’s face falls, just a bit, before he pulls Taako into the embrace.

They move the Handsome Man into one of the bedrooms that night, and Taako joins him.

The two tangle together, moving in a way that’s so familiar, sleepily holding the other tight.

Taako wakes up to find the Handsome Man grinning at him.

“Love,” Taako says to him.

The man simply smiles and repeats the word.


	8. Chapter 7: Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako’s sister is sad a lot. 
> 
> Taako doesn’t know why. He tries to make her feel better, to wipe away her tears and get her to smile, but sometimes he only makes it worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up short but either that's because it said all it needed to or i wrote it at midnight.
> 
> My leg has been twisted, so while the epilogue will be up tonight expect a bonus chapter sometime soon.

Taako’s sister is sad a lot. 

Taako doesn’t know why. He tries to make her feel better, to wipe away her tears and get her to smile, but sometimes he only makes it worse.

She looks at him when she thinks he isn’t paying attention with sad eyes and with so much guilt. It hurts. Taako just wants her happy.

He can’t think of a thing that would make her so sad. To be fair, though, he can’t think of anything.

***

Sometimes Taako’s sister will pass Taako a bowl or go to hip bump him and he isn’t there.

She’ll look at him, then, so lost, and Taako can tell she’s grieving something, although he can’t figure out what. 

He tries to comfort her but she turns away. 

***

Taako’s sister lets him sit at the kitchen and watch while she cooks.

Sometimes she talks to him, sometimes she hums. Sometimes she says nothing and lets the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board be its own symphony.

Taako likes her voice, but he also like the kitchen. There’s something about it that’s comfortable, that makes him feel at home. 

The first time someone lets him try to cook it’s an accident.

Taako’s sister was working, which left the Pants Man in charge of dinner. He was preparing a simple dish, trying to be meticulous and failing miserably.

When he passes a knife and a carrot to Taako he doesn’t realize his mistake.

Taako takes the offered objects with care, turning the carrot over in his hand. 

He puts the carrot down on the counter and raises the knife just as the Pants Man realizes what he has done. 

The Pants Man shouts, startling Taako, who drops the knife. It falls to the ground, harmlessly.

The Pants Man’s eyes are wide and frantic as he takes Taako in his arms and mutters an apology Taako just can’t comprehend. 

Taako’s sister walks in on the sight and she freezes. 

She has a conversation with the Pants Man before moving to Taako and trying to take him from the kitchen.

Taako loves his sister; he loves her more than anyone else. But there’s something about the kitchen that feels like how he does with his sister - that feels like home.

Taako throws a fit, but his sister wins in dragging him towards the couch.

She makes it to the couch before breaking down. Kitchen incident forgotten, Taako holds her, rubbing circles in her back and humming a string of melodies he can’t possibly connect.

She takes him into the kitchen the next morning and lets him wash the fruit.

***

He finds her one night under a pile of blankets sobbing.

Taako never knows what to do when he finds her like this. He wants to make her happy, but his touch sends her reeling.

Taako looks at his sister’s shaking form and realizes that she must be thirsty.

He makes his way to the kitchen. It’s dark at night, but not scary.

Sometimes the kitchen is scary, but he doesn’t know why. Usually he loves it, but some nights it feels like a scar that’s still trying to heal.

He finds the glasses and he pours his sister some water. 

As he starts to leave the kitchen he realizes she’s probably hungry, too.

He surveys his options before remembering the basket of fruit sitting on the counter.

Someone had brought it along a while ago, and while his sister had seemed upset by the gesture she refused to throw out any of the food. 

Taako takes an apple out of the basket and begins to wash it.

He returns to his sister’s room to find her in the same position. He clears his throat, announcing his entrance.

She sits up, eyes sad. She shakes her head, but Taako knows that he can fix this. He can finally make this right.

He’s starting to think maybe the problem his sister is dealing with has been him all along. 

Taako approaches with the water and the apple in hand. He offers it to her.

She stares at the gifts for a moment before looking back at him, wonder in her eyes. She puts the food down and gently hugs her brother.

She rocks him back and forth, humming in his ear. He hums along, making a harmony.

For a while, they simply exist in that moment.

Taako knows it’s his fault that his sister’s been crying, but at least he knows he can cheer her up, too.


	9. Epilogue: Missed Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second time Taako does a saving throw his sister is prepared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much everyone for your incredible comments! I've read and adored every single one.
> 
> In the next few days I'll release the bonus chapter.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, I love all of you

The second time Taako does a saving throw his sister is prepared.

She sets him up on the couch, with a blanket around him, and holds his hand for a while as they wait. 

She looks in his eyes and pleads. He hopes whatever she’s waiting for, whatever miracle, happens. He doesn’t want to see her sad anymore.

The saving throw begins and for a moment Taako is disoriented. He feels his whole body shudder, his breathe quicken, his hand tighten their grip on the fabric of his gown. 

When the spell passes over Taako closes his eyes.

And when he opens them he sees Lup.

“Hey,” he croaks, voice rough from disuse. “Miss me?”

She crashes into him, squeezing him so tight he can’t breathe. He doesn’t mind.

“Of course,” Lup chuckles. She rocks against him, and he straightens out her hair.

“You look like a mess.” Taako says.

“You look worse,” Lup says, but there’s no fire in her voice.

Taako shakes his head. “I didn’t use a hairbrush, dingus, but you could of,” he says, carding his hair through her short but messy hair. 

Lup smiles sadly at him. “I brushed your hair,” she corrects him. “Every other day.” There’s a pause as Lup considers what to say. “You stopped sleeping, the last couple days. Think it’s because you were getting worried about the rest of us.”

Shit, Taako thinks to himself. “Who was there?” He asks. 

Lup smiles softly at him. “We were all worried, babe. The whole team.”

Taako shakes his head. “Some more than others,” he spits out.

Lup shakes her head, expression hardening. “Not now,” she says. “Lucretia was worried. We all were. It was hard on everyone.”

Taako nods. When he speaks again it’s soft. “Can you get Krav?”

Lup nods. She hugs him one last time and gets up slowly.

Taako’s alone for just a minute before Kravitz enters the room.

“Hey bones,” Taako grins. “Been a while.”

Kravitz is by his side in a moment, holding Taako as much as he possibly can. 

“Hello, love,” Kravitz whispers into Taako’s ear. “It’s good to have you back.”

Taako snorts. “Hell yeah it is,” he agrees, moving into the embrace.

***

Lup and Kravitz stay by his side for another half an hour filling Taako in on what had happened while he was out of it before Davenport enters the room.

“Is everything a-alright,” he gently asks.

“Oh shit,” Lup says, rubbing tears off of her face. “I probably should’ve updated everyone, yeah?”

“Probably,” Kravitz agrees. They both look to Taako.

“Go,” he says, “spread the good news. Taako’s back, baby.”

Davenport grins. “T-Taako!”

“The one and only,” Taako replies, but he’s smiling. 

“It’s good to have you back,” Davenport says and Lup and Kravitz exit the room. “B-be ready for Magnus to tackle you. He’s been worried.”

Taako nods. There’s silence for a moment. 

“Be honest with me, Cap’n,” Taako says. “How bad was it?”

Davenport glances over, nodding. “It was pretty bad. But we all m-made do.” Davenport smiles, and Taako smiles back.

Before the touching moment can continue Magnus rushes in and tackles Taako.

“Hey, watch it,” Taako grumbles. Magnus only sobs harder.

“You’re back,” he mumbles.

“Yeah, buddy,” Taako assures him. “Ch’boy’s back to give y’all hell, don’t even worry about it.”

At least he gets a laugh.

Lucretia and Merle trail after Magnus. Merle looks relieved out of his mind. Lucretia looks a little worried.

“Hey,” Taako greets them once Magnus sets him down.

“Can’t believe I’m saying this,” Merle chuckles, “but i missed your voice.”

“Well I didn’t miss yours, old man,” Taako replies. Merle pulls him into a hug.

Taako looks at Lucretia. Help me, he mouths.

Lucretia silently laughs. That’s always been a talent of hers. She shakes her head. He’s missed you, she mouths back. 

Taako rolls his eyes, but he leans into the hug.

“We all have missed you,” Lucretia softly.

For a second Taako’s thinks about shunning her, about flipping her off, about giving her hell.

“Alright, Merle, times up,” he grumbles instead. He walks over to Lucretia when Merle finally releases him. He holds out a hand to shake.

Lucretia smiles and takes it.

Taako pulls her into a hug. “Mention this again,” he whispers in her ear, “and you’re dead.”

Lucretia laughs.

***

The family has dinner together before the group heads to bed early. At midnight Taako slips into the kitchen, itching to cook and unable to sleep.

He finds a figure already sitting at the kitchen table.

“Jeez, Barold, don’t you ever sleep?”

Barry jumps, but when he sees it Taako he simply smiles. The man is clearly exhausted. “Sleep’s for the weak,” Barry mutters. “I’m no chump.”

“Sure, Barry, whatever keeps you going,” Taako easily replies, grabbing pans.

“‘S good to have you back,” Barry says.

“So i’ve been told,” Taako replies.

Barry laughs at that. “Yeah, gotta imagine that gets old fast.”

Taako nods. “How’s Lup holding up?”

“She’s meditating now,” Barry says. “She seems a lot better. Still, she might be looking after you a lot for the next week. Krav too.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Taako sighs. He looks over Barry. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Barry laughs a little, flush forming. “It’s dumb. When you were, er, feebleminded i guess is the way to put it? You slept in my bed with Lup. We moved me to the guest room, and Krav got the couch. ‘Xcept I can’t sleep without spooning someone, and Kravitz missed you so much, so, er -”

Taako narrows his eyes. “Barold,” he says slowly, “have you been spooning my husband?”

“A little bit,” Barry laughs.

“So you can’t sleep because…” Taako asks.

Barry shakes his head. “It was two months of a routine. Routines are hard to break for me. 

“You can always cast the spell again,” Taako jokes.

Barry frowns. “I wouldn’t joke about it,” he warns. “Not yet. Everyone’s still real messed up by what happened.”

“What, was I that bad?”

Barry grins. “You were a perfect angel. That was the weird part. We couldn’t believe there was a Taako that wasn’t mean.”

Taako shoves him. “I’ll show you mean, Bluejeans,” he threatens, suppressing a grin. “Just you wait.”

Barry laughs. There’s a pause again before the human speaks. “Seriously, though, you okay?”

“Don’t remember much,” Taako shrugs. Barry glares at him. “Ok, fine, I’m a little freaked out. You happy now?”

Barry nods. “It’s gonna take time to fix this,” he says.

“That’s bullshit,” Taako says.

Barry laughs at that. “Yeah,” he agrees, “it is.”

“What’s going on in here?” Taako turns around to find Lup in the doorway of the kitchen.

She looks a little rough, eyes blotchy, but there’s something about her that makes Taako smile.

“Barold confessed he likes to spoon my husband,” Taako says. Barry splutters.

“Oh yeah?” Lup says as she moves over to the two, She wraps her arms around Barry. “Barold’s got game,” she chuckles.

Barry’s face is bright red. 

“Move over,” Taako says, “i’m starting breakfast.”

“Need a co-chef?” Lup asks.

Taako grins. “‘Course. Barry you’re our sou chef don’t mess it up.”

“I’ll try,” Barry says.

Taako goes to grab some flour.

He smiles. Everything’s going to be okay.


	10. Bonus Chapter: The Fancy Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako is excited when he gets a new guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was never supposed to happen but then four different people mentioned I should do a chapter for Angus, and dammit, y'all were right so here we go.

Taako is excited when he gets a new guest.

The Fancy Boy was never supposed to come, Taako knows that from the panic and whispers that emanate from his friends.

Still, Taako is excited to meet him.

The Fancy Boy is less excited. 

He knocks on the door one day and everyone is too busy to notice so Taako decides he’s going to have to do the honors himself.

He opens the door after a few tries to be greeted by an eleven year old boy with curly black hair and a dapper little suit.

The Fancy Boy smiles at him and says something. Taako smiles back, but that only seems to unnerve the Fancy Boy, who stumbles backwards. He begins to call for someone in the house.

Taako’s sister comes running, leading him away from the door and ushering the Fancy Boy inside.

The two talk for awhile, sitting on the couch, Taako squished between them. He can’t make out their conversation, but he can tell it’s serious by the way the Fancy Boy frowns. The boy has a hard time hiding his emotions, Taako can tell. They’re written all over his face.

Right now he’s worried.

The Fancy Boy turns to Taako and smiles. He takes one of Taako’s hands and shakes it. Taako likes this friend.

***

The Fancy Boy stays for a while. It becomes his job to watch Taako while the rest of the group goes about their business.

The Handsome Man, The Pants Man, and Taako’s sister are swamped with work. They disappear in the mornings at the crack of dawn and reappear hours after the sun has set, They’re worn out, Taako can tell, so he lets them be.

For three days Sideburns and the Fancy Boy take care of him.

It’s easy to have the Fancy Boy around - he neatly fits into the equation.

At first Sideburns and the Fancy Boy talk, occasionally glancing over at Taako. He has an array of things to play with, so he doesn’t really care. Sideburns had just brought over toys he can chew on, and that’s what Taako is the most interested in at the moment. 

And then the Fancy Boy approaches, slowly and cautiously sitting beside him. 

He reaches his hand out and says something. Taako simply blinks.

And then he goes to grab a toy. 

Taako smacks his hand. The boy looks upset at him, and Taako feels bad, but they’re his toys. The Fancy Boy can get his own. 

The Fancy Boy takes out a notebook and scribbles something down. Taako moves to read the notepad.

Just as he suspected - it’s a bunch of squiggles.

The Fancy Boy sees him looking. He flips to a new page and hands the notebook to Taako along with the pencil.

Taako takes the pencil and begins to draw his own squiggles. He looks proudly at the Fancy Boy to find him giggling. 

Sideburns comes over and draws a dog. To be fair, it is a good dog. Taako’s very impressed.

Sideburns, the Fancy Boy, and Taako sit for awhile, drawing and writing and squiggling, respectively. 

***

Taako discovers the Fancy Boy can do magic when he walks into his room one day.

The Fancy Boy is staying in one of the spare rooms. Taako stumbles into it one day by accident while playing hide and seek with the Pants Man. Or, Taako’s playing hide and seek. He’s not sure if the Pants Man is playing tag instead, but whatever he’s playing involves chasing. 

The Fancy Boy is sitting down, wand out, and there’s sparks coming from the tip.

They’re gorgeous, a deep purple, and Taako can’t help but gasp. 

The Fancy Boy turns and hears him, and the sparks disappear.

Taako runs to the boy and holds his hand, trying to discover where the sparks came from and how to get them back. 

The Fancy Boy smiles and flicks his wand a little. The lights appear again.

Taako sits down and watches the sparks, eyes wide. He turns to see if the Fancy Boy is also seeing this, but instead the boy is looking at him with such sad and vulnerable eyes. 

Taako nudges the boy a little, gesturing to the lights. The Fancy Boy smiles and nods, and turns to look at the lights again.

There’s a moments pause before the Fancy Boy tackles Taako, holding on to him tightly, face pressed into the elf’s torso.

He’s saying something and crying, so Taako rubs circles into the boy’s back and hums a melody that always makes him feel better.

The Fancy Boy, after a few minutes, looks up, face red, filled with shame.

Taako refuses to let the boy be sad for any longer. He leans down and gives the boy a kiss on the top of his head. 

The boy looks at him in shock for a moment before grinning. He gives Taako one last hug before picking up his wand and starting the lights again.

***

Taako doesn’t want the Fancy Boy leave. 

He’s been over for about a week, watching over Taako and scribbling in his notebook. Taako’s not sure what the notebook’s for, but it’s got to be important.

The Fancy Boy is attentive. He notices when Taako’s hungry and when’s he’s cranky much faster than anyone else. 

But he’s a busy, growing boy, and good things can’t last forever.

One day the Fancy Boy hugs him for a long time before going out the door. Taako’s okay with this, except he doesn’t come back the next day. He doesn’t come back at all.

Taako stays by the door, waiting for the boy’s return, for fifteen minutes before he wanders back in the house, Fancy Boy forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, truly, the end of this fic. Thank you so much for reading it and responding so positively. Love you all <3

**Author's Note:**

> Lup-sister  
> Barry-Pants Man  
> Magnus-Sideburns  
> Merle-Plant Man  
> Kravitz-Handsome Man  
> Lucretia-Quiet Lady  
> Davenport-Mustache Man
> 
> My tumblr is @infernaltwink, yell with me about TAZ!


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